South Korea has tasked red-hot striker Suk Hyun-jun with carrying the offense against Laos in Thursday's World Cup qualifier at home.   Suk, a 24-year-old forward making his first international appearance in five years, will start as the featured striker, as the 57th-ranked South Korea take on the No. 174 Laos at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.   Suk, who plays for Vitoria de Setubal in Portugal, has scored three goals in his last two club matches. He is look

Sept. 3, 2015

On the eve of his team's World Cup qualifying match against Laos, South Korea head coach Uli Stielike said Wednesday he hopes to see efficient offense.The 54th-ranked South Korea will take on the 177th-ranked Laos at 8 p.m. Thursday at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium. South Korea have won all three meetings against Laos so far.Stielike predicted that Laos, as the underdog, will try to sit back and play a tight defense on the South Koreans. He called on his players to use their smarts to bre

Sept. 2, 2015

Son Heung-min has signed with Tottenham Hotspur, the English Premier League club announced Friday, making him the 13th South Korean to play in the competition.Tottenham snatched the 23-year-old wing forward from Germany-based Bayer Leverkusen and signed him through 2020. The financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, though the transfer fee is reportedly around 30 million euros (US$33.8 million).Tottenham added that the deal is subject to work permit and international clearance,

Aug. 28, 2015

Veteran South Korean football administrator Chung Mong-joon announced Monday he will stand for the FIFA presidency, saying it's "time to restore common sense" at the sport's international governing body mired in corruption allegations.Chung, formerly a FIFA vice president, launched his bid for the top job in world football at a press conference in the French capital, where FIFA was founded in 1904.Chung had previously told the South Korean media that he would run for FIFA president, but this was

Aug. 17, 2015

South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi has been named the best netminder of the 2015 Women's East Asian Cup football tournament.The regional competition wrapped up late Saturday with North Korea on top for the second consecutive edition, thanks to a 2-0 victory over South Korea at Wuhan Sports Center Stadium in China.Japan defeated China 2-0 to earn its first victory of the competition. China closed out with three losses.Kim, a 30-year-old veteran, blanked China 1-0 and made key saves in a 2-1 win

Aug. 9, 2015

South Korean midfielder Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea City injured his hamstring in the club's Premier League season opener against Chelsea, though his coach expects to have him back in the fold in the next match.Ki left the game in the 41st minute after he went down with pain in his right hamstring and was replaced by Jack Cork. Ki walked off the pitch on his own, and head coach Garry Monk told local media that the South Korean should be ready to face Newcastle United next weekend.Swansea City held

Aug. 9, 2015

South Korean FIFA presidential hopeful Chung Mong-joon said Thursday he will announce his candidacy in Paris later this month.He told a press conference in Seoul that he will officially join the race on Aug. 17 in the French capital. He will first travel to Georgia on Aug. 12 for UEFA Super Cup, where he will hold talks with key European football officials, and make stops through some European cities before arriving in Paris."FIFA was founded in Paris (in 1904) and it's a transportation hub," sa

Aug. 6, 2015

Two of South Korea's best football imports to Europe, midfielders Ki Sung-yueng and Lee Chung-yong, will have a chance to go head-to-head in the same league for the first time during the 2015-16 Premier League season.The two close friends go back nearly a decade, when they both joined the South Korean club FC Seoul in 2006. Lee, 27, left the domestic league first when he signed with the Premier League club Bolton Wanderers in 2009.Ki, 26, joined his friend on the way out, though he signed with C

Aug. 6, 2015

South Korea played its long-time rival Japan to a 1-1 draw in the men's East Asian Cup football tournament here Wednesday.   Midfielder Jang Hyun-soo put South Korea on board with a penalty in the 27th minute at Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, before Hotaru Yamaguchi equalized for Japan 12 minutes later.   South Korea still holds the edge in all-time meetings with 40 wins, 23 draws and 14 losses. South Korea had lost the previous three matches against Japan prior to Wednesday.   South Korea, which

Aug. 5, 2015

South Koreans consider the country's first-ever advance to the semifinals in the FIFA World Cup as the most honorable moment in history since the Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule, a survey showed Wednesday.Public broadcaster MBC surveyed 3,000 adults via Gallup Korea, and 29.5 percent of the respondents cited the advance to the semifinals in the World Cup co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002 as the nation's top moment of pride.The figure was followed by 19 percent who chose th

Aug. 5, 2015

South Korean FIFA presidential hopeful Chung Mong-joon said Monday he has met with a potential rival during his trip to the United States.Chung, former FIFA vice president, said he held talks with Michel Platini, head of the Union of European Football Associations, in Philadelphia on Sunday.Chung declared his intention to run for the top football job last week and plans to formally announce his candidacy next month.He is visiting the U.S. to meet football officials from the Americas during the G

July 27, 2015

South Korea replaced two injured players on its Women's East Asian Cup football squad Friday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said forward Yoo Young-a will miss the regional tournament with a sprained left knee, while defender Kim Hye-yeong will be sidelined with a torn right quadriceps.The KFA named midfielder Lee Min-a and forward Lee Hyun-young as replacements.Both Yoo and Kim were members of the national team that reached the round of 16 at the FIFA Women's World Cup last month in Canad

July 24, 2015

Former FIFA Vice President Chung Mong-joon on Tuesday expressed his intent to run for the world's top football job.  "I am thinking of running (for FIFA president)," Chung told Yonhap News Agency on the phone. "I will try to usher in a new era for FIFA."  Chung served as FIFA's No. 2 man from 1994 to 2011. He has been a vocal critic of the world's football governing body since several officials were implicated in corruption scandals.  Sepp Blatter, who was elected to his fifth mandate as FIFA ho

July 21, 2015

The central town of Hwaseong will host South Korea's World Cup qualifier against Laos this fall, the national football federation said Wednesday.Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul, will play host to Laos on Sept. 3, the Korea Football Association said. The kickoff time hasn't been determined.It will be South Korea's second match in the ongoing second round of Asian qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.South Korea defeated Myanmar 2-

July 15, 2015

On the surface, South Korea accomplished the goals it had set out to meet at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. The world's 18th-ranked team earned its maiden win at the quadrennial tournament and reached the knockout stage for the first time in the process.The success on paper, however, masked some of the pressing issues South Korea faces going forward.Coached by Yoon Duk-yeo, South Korea lost to France 3-0 in the round of 16 in Montreal on Sunday. Without its star forward Ji So-yun, who sat

June 22, 2015

South Korea crashed out of the FIFA Women's World Cup with a 3-0 loss to France in the round of 16 on Sunday.France scored twice in the first eight minutes en route to the rout at Olympic Stadium, as the flustered South Korea, ranked 18th in the world, found itself overmatched against the third-ranked opponent.Forward Marie-Laure Delie scored twice and midfielder Elodie Thomis added another for France, which finished fourth at the previous Women's World Cup in 2011.It was South Korea's first tri

June 22, 2015

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (Yonhap) -- With strong efforts on both ends, South Korea defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 3-0 on Thursday in its final football friendly before the start of the World Cup qualifiers.Former World Cup veteran Yeom Ki-hun, international rookie Lee Yong-jae and rising striker Lee Jeong-hyeop scored a goal apiece at Shah Alam Stadium in Shah Alam, Malaysia, as the 58th-ranked South Korea edged past the 73rd-ranked UAE for the 12th time in 19 meetings. South Korea will trav

June 11, 2015